


A Unicorn in Central Park

by hhertzof



Series: How I Met Your Unicorn [1]
Category: How I Met Your Mother, The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-19
Updated: 2008-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 08:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1640588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hhertzof/pseuds/hhertzof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a unicorn in Central Park. Not that anyone noticed. It was New York City, after all. As for the four children in old-fashioned suits and dresses and the men in smart suits they must be involved in a play or some other event. Nothing unusual about that. Not at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Unicorn in Central Park

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annakovsky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annakovsky/gifts).



> Thank you to my many lovely betas: ladyvivien, shinyjenni and paranoidangel and my NYC factchecker dbskyler.
> 
> Written for Annakovsky

 

 

April 25, 2009

Nobody noticed the four children who appeared in Sheep's Meadow dressed in old-fashioned clothes. Or if they did, they gave no sign that this was anything unusual. Probably because it wasn't. To their left was a band of clowns performing a tumbling routine. There were men in African dress and women in hijab and one small child was wearing her Batman costume, all enjoying the beautiful spring day.

However, the children glanced around a little warily as though they were lost. They'd materialised in a grassy area but there were signs of a city in the distance.

After a moment of staring at people in familiar jeans and shorts, Janet blurted out, "This is my world." Somehow the blaring of radios and the distant honking of horns felt disturbing and out of place. She'd grown accustomed to the quiet pastoral nature of Chrestomanci's world.

Julia's eyes widened. "Is this London?" 

Janet scanned the skyline. "No. New York, I think. It doesn't even exist in your world." Though there was a city here, settled by the Incas. Judging by her books, it wasn't quite the same. "I came here once with my parents." She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a £20 note that she held onto in case she ever found herself back in her own world.

"So what now? Janet's world doesn't have any magic. How could you hide a unicorn here?" Roger looked dubious.

"Probably the same way they were hidden in our world. Disguise them as another creature." Cat was developing a sense for these things. He concentrated for a moment and then pointed. "It's somewhere over there."

"Maybe we should change our clothes." Julia tied a knot in her handkerchief.

Suddenly they were in what Janet considered normal clothes, all four in jeans, t-shirts and trainers. The other three looked a little uncomfortable at first, but Janet was relieved not to have to deal with the heavy skirts that she tolerated but did not love.

Ignoring the games of baseball and Frisbee, Cat led the other three out of the meadow and along winding paths. To Janet's surprise, there were cricket fields off to the side of the path. She hadn't thought cricket was played in America.

Roger started to wander off to watch, but Cat called him back. "We don't have time for that." There was some regret in his voice but he urged them on.

"The noise is getting louder," Julia observed. "But I thought the city was in the other direction."

"Central Park. We must be in Central Park." Janet blurted out. "It's a huge park completely surrounded by the city."

Cat led them to the left, on a path that overlooked a street that bisected the park. As they walked, Janet was relieved to see a museum at the edge of the park. Judging by the banners, it was probably the Natural History museum which at the age of 9, she had found much more interesting than the art museums. She suddenly wondered how she would explain to the other three about crossing the busy New York streets.

She needn't have worried. Though the traffic was daunting, they emerged from the park at a pelican crossing with lights that clearly showed when it was safe to walk. A quick explanation was all it took, though Julia looked warily at the stopped cars as though she expected them to start up again at any moment.

"A flight exhibit." Once they were across the street, Roger started up the stairs.

Cat called him back. "We don't have time."

"Just a few minutes." There was still so much he didn't know about flight.

"We can't afford it. Entrance costs money." Janet remembered that you could donate whatever you want, but there was no need to tell Roger that. Her money wasn't going to go far in one of the most expensive cities in the world. "We need to find that unicorn."

There were several other distractions as they made their way westward (Janet remembered that the museum was on the west side of the park). Manoeuvring along the busy city streets was distracting enough for the other three, who kept stopping to look in shop windows and stare at the passers-by. She almost wished she'd come back alone. But then one of them would make a funny observation about the people they passed, and she was almost glad to be showing them _her_ world. 

The trek across Manhattan was slow, even as the crowds thinned out. Partially because Cat kept correcting their course. "The unicorn is moving," he explained. 

Janet still didn't know how you'd hide a unicorn in New York City, even if it was disguised as the others had been. A police horse, perhaps. They were moving away from Central Park, so it couldn't be in the zoo. 

"How are we going to get it back without causing a commotion?" Julia asked. She was still a little shocked at how little some of the people here wore, but she was trying to look as nonchalant as Janet was. 

"I'm not sure yet," Cat answered, "but we'll think of something." 

Janet nudged Roger, who'd stopped to stare at a helicopter overhead. She wished they had enough time and she had enough money to give him a ride in one of them, but they had a job to do. "This is New York City," she said with more confidence than she felt, "Nobody notices anything strange." 

They backtracked and zigzagged and finally Cat stopped in front of a pub called MacLaren's. Roger, who was still looking up, bumped into him. The two girls, who had been paying more attention, tried not to laugh. 

"In the pub?" Janet asked. "They'll never let us in." 

"No. Up, I think." Cat gestured at the flats above. "I'm not sure how we get up, though." 

"It's a block of flats," Janet said. "Usually they leave the door open, or one of you can magic it open. No magic here, so there won't be any defences against it."

Julia didn't wait, but walked up the stairs and after testing the door, tied a knot in her handkerchief. When she tried the door again, it opened, and she gestured to the others to follow her in. 

They did, oddly quietly. It almost felt like trespassing. "Up," Cat said, heading for the door with the sign that said stairs. 

Janet looked regretfully at the lift. But if Cat wasn't sure which floor it was on, it was probably better to take the stairs. 

They climbed slowly. Neither Julia nor Roger was in the best of shape. When they reached a door that was marked third floor (though Janet would have called it the second), Cat pushed it open and led them around a corner to the door to flat 4. 

"Do we knock?" Julia asked doubtfully. 

"There's a bell," Janet replied, but made no move to ring it. Now that they were there, she felt oddly shy. What were they supposed to say? 'I believe you have a unicorn in your flat. Could we have it please? It doesn't belong here.' They'd probably be locked up in the loony bin. 

None of the others made a move either, and when they heard a commotion behind the door, as one they backed away around the corner. As they watched, they saw a man, half-dressed, grumpily pushing a goat out of the flat. "I don't care what Lily wants. You're not staying in the apartment a moment longer." 

"But Ted, he's so cute." A woman's voice came from the flat. 

"After what he did in that bathroom, I never want to see him again. He can stay up on the roof until Lily's rescue people show up." He glared at the goat again before trying to manoeuvre it towards the lift. "How did you get this thing up on the roof anyway? Not up the fire escape." 

The woman, fully dressed, emerged from the flat. "Lily and I got him up to the top floor in the elevator and then up the stairs. And you are not going to leave that goat alone up there. He'll be lonely." 

"I don't care if he invites all of his goat friends for a party. I just want him out of the apartment." Ted was now glaring at both the woman and the goat. "Here, Robin. You love the goat so much, even after what he did, _you_ can take it up to the roof." 

"Fine." 

"Fine." Ted returned to the flat slamming the door. 

The four children watched Robin struggle to get the goat into the lift. As it closed, they looked at each other. 

"What's someone doing with a goat in New York City anyway?" Janet asked rhetorically. "It's not exactly a city pet." 

Cat blinked at her. "You mean that's not normal? This city is so strange." In the town he had grown up in, it wasn't uncommon to have a goat for a pet. The milk often came in handy. "I wondered why there was no livestock in the square." He was clearly referring to the park

Janet tried to think of a way to answer this, but failed miserably. Instead she gestured at the stairs. "We should go up. Sooner or later the woman will leave and we'll be alone with the goat and we can figure out how to get back to the castle." 

Roger was the nearest, so he opened the door to the stairs and started up, with the others following close behind. 

"So where is the goat?" Julia asked softly as she walked cautiously almost to the edge, but then made the mistake of looking down. The roof was much farther up than she'd realised. Higher than the castle roof. She backed away slowly. 

Cat started to reply, but then held up a hand. They could hear a woman's voice speaking. 

The four of them crowded carefully together beside one of the structures on the roof and listened. 

"...just you and me, goat. Not that I'm objecting mind you. You're not bad company...for a goat." The goat made a noise as if replying. "It's not as though I have anywhere else to go. My job downstairs doesn't start until after 7pm and I'm tired of just sitting in the apartment all day." 

The four of them looked at each other in dismay. It sounded like they would be stuck up here for hours. 

"Not that MacLaren's is a bad job mind you. Better than the giant hot-dog costume. It's not that I want my old job back, but this isn't what I planned to do with my life." 

She paused at a sound that the children quickly realised was coming from behind them. They hurriedly moved to the side of the stairs just in time to see a blond man in a suit emerge. 

Janet admired the suit, somewhat. It wasn't as fancy as some of Chrestomanci's but her world didn't encourage such flamboyancy, but this was the closest she'd seen. He was even straightening his cuffs and tie in a way she knew Chrestomanci would have approved of. 

"Robin?" The man asked, though he was striding across the roof as if he knew where he was going.

"Ted said you were up here...with a goat?" 

He said the last bit dubiously and Janet didn't blame him. If anyone had told her that she would be standing on a rooftop in New York City trying to steal a unicorn, she never would have believed it. Even considering all of the odd things that had happened to her since Gwendolyn trapped her in Chrestomanci's world. 

"Barney, meet Missy. Missy, Barney." The goat let out a loud baaah. 

"Pleased to meet you. I think." 

Barney had moved out of the children's view, so they couldn't see what was happening, but they could hear. 

"So is there a reason you've chosen goatly companionship over the pleasures of your own kind?" Barney asked. 

"I...," Robin started but she was interrupted. 

"This is a five thousand dollar suit, you stupid goat," Barney sounded furious. 

"What can I say?" Robin replied. "He has good taste in clothing." 

The children could hear movement, and assumed that Barney had moved out of range of the goat's teeth. 

"Leave the goat, Robin. Come with me. We could smoke cigars and play laser tag. Can your goat do that?" 

"If it can, I'm not sure I want to find out." Robin seemed more cheerful than she had been when she was pouring out her woes to the goat. 

Janet crossed her fingers and saw that Julia had done the same. Perhaps they wouldn't be stuck up here all day. 

Barney wheedled some more, elaborating on the pleasures that awaited Robin if she left the roof and the goat. 

Robin demurred at first, but finally agreed. "On one condition. I promised Lily I'd keep an eye on the goat. It should be okay up here, but I'll need to come by at lunchtime and feed it. What do you feed a goat anyway? Besides five thousand dollar suits," she added cheerfully. 

"Purina goat chow? Okay, Robin. You can feed your goat. But it isn't coming along with us on our adventures. And _you_ need to suit up." Barney commanded. 

"But this is comfortable," Robin whined. 

Janet remembered the glimpse she'd had of Robin earlier. She'd been wearing an old tracksuit with saggy elastic that was stained and full of holes. Upon consideration, she didn't blame Barney at all. 

The children watched as Robin came into view, Barney's hands lightly pushing her towards the stairs. "No arguments. Down you go. I'll make sure this beast is fastened properly and meet you down there shortly." 

Robin went through the door and once it was safely shut behind them, Barney turned and headed towards the goat. 

"You don't think he's going to hurt the goat?" Julia asked worriedly. "After all the fuss he made about his suit." 

"Dad would have been just the same. You know that, Julia," Roger replied. "That doesn't mean that _he_ would have hurt a goat that ate his clothing." 

"Hush. We don't want him to know we're up here," Cat said warily. "We're trespassing. And we don't exactly have a good excuse for being up here."

Roger motioned them to be quiet as Barney started speaking to the goat. 

"Now I don't know what brought you here, but I won't have it. We're natural enemies, you and I." A strange combination of dry humour and not quite sarcasm. "And Robin isn't your sort either, so don't get any ideas. 

"What sort of ideas would a goat get?" Cat muttered. 

Julia's eyes widened. "I think he knows it isn't a goat." 

"And even if I were prepared to let you into my group of friends, which I am not, this isn't your world. There's hardly any magic here. Before you knew it you would forget what you were and believe you had always been a goat," Barney instructed. "I think the best thing is to get you back to your home dimension as soon as possible. And out of my hair." 

"He definitely knows. And it sounds like he thinks he can do something about it. I thought there wasn't any magic here." Janet frowned. 

Roger patted her. "Dad said there was almost no magic, which means there might be some." 

"Hush," Cat said. "We need to know what he's planning." 

They heard a metallic click and a murmured something-or-other that might have been a spell. "Now I can't let the others know you're really a unicorn. They'd never let me live it down. And at the moment it's more important to distract Robin than to deal with you. So this will keep you from wandering off and prevent anyone who wants to capture you and use your talents for evil from making off with you. Once Robin's job starts, I'll slip up here and find a way to send you home. But you can't tell anyone. That would ruin my reputation." 

Footsteps were heard and Barney came into view before disappearing down the stairs. 

"Did you notice? I don't think there were any teeth marks on that suit," Julia said with a grin. "I've seen dad do the same thing." 

Janet snickered. "So we may have found the only wizard in New York City." 

"Not a very powerful wizard," Cat added. "It almost feels like everything is muffled here." 

"Let's get over and see what he did, rescue the unicorn and go home," Roger said almost regretfully. It didn't look like he was going to get a trip on one of the many airships he had seen. 

When the reached the unicorn, Janet had to stifle a giggle. Barney had fastened the goat to the railing with a length of chain...and a pair of handcuffs. Judging by the innocence of the others, she doubted they'd understand her amusement, but it was precisely what she would have expected given Barney's speech.

Cat, meanwhile was trying to magic the lock open. "It's not budging. Odd." Usually he could just touch things and they did what he wanted, but the handcuffs would not open. He could see that the lock had been sealed with a spell, but all of his usual means of dispelling or breaking charms weren't working. "Roger, Julia, come over and look at this."

Janet moved away to allow the other two a closer look. She didn't have any magic of her own and hadn't had the chance to learn much theory.

"It's very odd. Not like a proper spell at all," Roger commented. "Magic seems to just slide off it."

Julia nodded her agreement. She tried a few things but nothing worked.

"I don't think we'll be able to get you free," Cat said to the goat. "We're going to have to wait for Barney to come back."

"Do you think he'd even listen to kids?" Julia asked slightly dreamily. They could tell she'd fallen in love with him. She did this often enough that none of the other children took notice.

"If he knows magic - your kind of magic, not stage magic, I mean - he might listen. He must be exceptional if he's one of the rare magicians in this world." She was a bit chuffed that there was magic in her world, after being told so often there was no magic here.

Roger nodded. "Okay. So what do we do until he gets back? He said he'd be gone until evening and it must be near lunchtime."

"Cat, are you sure you can't do anything?" Janet asked. Having the other kids look to her for answers was unusual enough to be almost thrilling. In their world, she often felt stupid, so she was glad to be the one who knew things for once.

"If not, one of you come downstairs with me and we'll buy lunch from one of those carts we passed." She didn't have that much money, and food from a street seller would go further than trying to find a restaurant. "The other two can keep watch on the unicorn. Be sure to hide if you hear anyone coming. Unless you," she looked at Julia and Roger, "think it's time to summon your dad."

"No." was Roger's emphatic answer. "We can do this ourselves."

Julia nodded. "I'll come with you. I think Cat should stay to see if he can undo the lock and I know Roger will want to watch the airships."

"Aeroplanes and helicopters," Janet corrected absently. "We should be back soon." She headed downstairs with Julia following. There had been a shish kebab vendor on the corner. Even if New York City was easy to navigate, she didn't want to stray too far afield.

The two girls returned about twenty minutes later with an assortment of kebabs and a book. Janet had spotted it in the newsagent's on the corner when she'd stopped at the bank to change her £20 and thought the other three would be amused by what her world thought sorcerers might be like. If nothing else, reading aloud would kill time until Barney returned. 

To her relief the other three liked the kebabs, though Cat said that the hot sauce was too spicy. Julia, on the other hand wanted to bring a bottle of it home with them. The goat had no comment. It had eaten a little of the leftover pita bread and some of the wrapper, without complaint. 

"We'll see about the hot sauce. I don't have _that_ much money," Janet said, wishing she did. "What do you do when you need money in other realms?" 

"Dad keeps a stash for emergencies. I'm not sure how he got it, though," Roger replied absently, his eyes trained on the helicopter flying overhead. 

There was some debate, but the end of it was that none of them knew where he kept it, so they couldn't summon any of it. Janet's £20 was all she had saved from her pocket money before been pulled into Chrestomanci's world for the first time, so there was no help there either. None of the children wanted to resort to stealing, so that was it. She still had about $15 US after buying lunch and the book, which meant that if they needed anything else, they would have to spend it sparingly. 

Their picnic lunch completed, they tidied up the papers into the bag that had held the book and Julia, considered the best reader by the four of them, began to read aloud. 

> Mr. And Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

As Janet had expected, there was a lively discussion of the nature of magic in that world, and some scorn of Harry, though Cat defended him with a will. 

"You weren't stuffed in a cupboard," Roger scorned 

"Gwendolyn was worse than the Dursleys could ever be," Cat argued. "At least the Dursleys didn't try to kill Harry. Gwen succeeded in killing me, several times." 

Janet just sat back and giggled, imagining what they would have said if she'd tried to introduce them to some of the tv shows she had watched. 

Still, Harry's trip to Hogwarts met with their approval. 

"It would be nice to have more children around," Julia said wistfully. "And not have so much of Michael's attention." 

The others agreed. As much as they liked their tutor, Michael Saunders, he was very much on the spot. 

The book occupied them for the rest of the afternoon. It had started to get dark when they heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Julia quickly folded down the corner of her page and they retreated to their hiding place from before.

But it wasn't Barney who emerged from the door to the stairway. 

"I can't believe _Ted_ left my goat on the _roof_ all day. I should report him to the ASPCA." The speaker was a woman they hadn't seen before. 

"There, there, Lilypad. He was very upset on the phone. What that goat did to the bathroom...," the tall man beside her patted her shoulder and led her over to where the goat was chained. 

"I bet Missy hasn't had anything to eat all day. I knew it was a mistake leaving her here. We should have brought her home with us." the woman, (Lilypad?!?) said. "Are you alright Missy? Ted could have at least given you a blanket. It's sort of chilly up here." 

They heard the clink of metal and Janet guessed that he was trying to open up the handcuffs and failing, just as they had failed. 

"Since when does _Ted_ of all people have handcuffs? Barney, yes, one expects that, but _Ted_?" He let go of the chain with a very audible clink. "And the way Ted was talking on the phone, he just brought him up here and left Robin to watch him. Where is Robin anyway?" 

"That isn't what we heard," Julia muttered scandalously. 

"I'll call her." There was a pause. "Robin, it's Lily. Ted said you were up on the roof watching the goat. Where are you?" 

Silence as Lily listened to the answer. "Oh, _Barney_." 

"I knew it. I knew those handcuffs weren't Ted's," the man sounded overly pleased with himself. 

"Well, tell him to get his butt over here to unlock the goat. That's the cruelest thing I've ever seen." Lily sounded absolutely furious. 

There was a click as Lily closed the phone. "They'll be here in fifteen minutes, Marshall. Or so Robin says." 

"I don't believe Barney. Locking up a poor innocent goat like that." 

"Oh, it's just typical Barney. Doesn't care about anyone but himself. It's okay, Missy. The bad man will be here soon to let you out." As if the goat were a five year old. "And if he doesn't he'll answer to me." 

"We'll make him free the goat. That's all there is too it." Marshall said tenderly. "Barney has to understand that he can't get away with stuff like this." 

The kids looked at each other, slightly amused as the talk turned mushy. 

"They're sweet," Julia said. 

Janet would have agreed with her, but somehow, returning to her home world made her feel like she should be tougher than that. Instead she sat down carefully, trying not to make any noise. It looked like they would be here a while.

They sat there listening to Marshall and Lily sweet-talking to each other and the goat, until even Julia was tired of it. Despite their inability to move, at least it was a nice day. The sun was shining and it was neither too hot or too cold. 

"Where is he? It's been at least an hour. If he doesn't come soon, you're going to have to break the lock." Lily was annoyed again. 

Janet didn't blame her. She wondered where Barney had got to that it was taking so long to get here. It wasn't as though Manhattan was that large and it certainly wasn't rush hour. 

Lily's rant continued, only to be broken by the slamming of the door as Barney and Robin emerged. Immediately Lily was on him, lecturing him within an inch of his life. 

Robin was quick to join in, emphasising that _she_ had been downstairs when the goat had been chained up. 

When Marshall joined the fight, the kids knew it was over, as did Barney. They heard the click of the lock and he soon moved back into sight, twirling the handcuffs around one finger. 

The other three followed, leading the goat. "Maybe we can give her to the Central Park Zoo," Lily mused. "Especially if Ted won't have her back in the apartment." 

"That's a great idea," Barney replied, overenthusiastically. He reached for the chain that was still connected to the goat's collar. "I'll just run her over. No need to worry yourselves." 

"As if we'd trust you," Lily said fiercely holding the chain away from him. 

"Fine, we'll all go," Barney said reluctantly. 

Janet supposed he was trying to work out a way to free the goat/unicorn, and having as much luck as they were having. 

The kids watched as the strange procession headed down the stairs. The goat baulked a little, but Barney glared at it and it seemed to respond to that. 

Cat held out an arm. "Let's give them a head start. We don't want them to see us on the stairs." 

By the time they reached the pavement, the other group was nowhere in sight. 

"We'll never catch up," Julia said. "We don't even know where they've gone." 

"There's a zoo in Central Park. Cat, can you still sense the unicorn?"

Cat nodded and led them back towards the park, roughly the way they had come. They didn't do much talking, but instead focused on their goal.

They still hadn't caught up with the other group before they reached the park, but Janet wasn't worried. "They might have caught a cab. But there aren't many streets that cross the park, so they'll have to do some of that walking."

"And Barney's on our side, even if he doesn't realise it," Julia added. "He'll be trying to divert them."

"We don't know what his exact plans are, though." Roger looked worried. "He'd have to bring the goat to a gateway and send her through. But we don't know where it is."

"Somewhere in Central Park," Janet said with a grin. "Possibly even where we showed up. But it's the most logical place. Even though the park is man-made, it's a very strange place, full of all sorts of odd nooks and crannies."

Cat turned sharply onto the path. "This way." He led them roughly back the way they had come but instead of stopping in the meadow, they walked through it and along the rambling paths. Several times the paths curved in such a way that Cat had to reorient himself, but no one complained.

Sooner than Janet expected, they saw the signs for the Zoo and the Children's Zoo. She _was_ much better at walking now, than she had been when she had lived on this world. Mostly out of necessity.

"Can we afford this or should some of us wait outside?" asked Julia, as they stood before the admission gate.

Janet looked at the fee and then nodded. "We have enough. Just barely though, so we'll have to hope this is the last expense. It's a good thing we're all under twelve, though." The tone of her voice implied that even if they weren't, they had better pretend they were. She walked up to the gate and carefully counted out $12 for the tickets, then distributed them. To her relief, no one challenged them as they walked through the gate, as though it was perfectly natural for them to be there.

Cat led them into the children's zoo.

"Can you really pet the animals here?" Julia grinned.

Roger gave her a suspicious look. "We're not going to have a repeat of the horse thing, are we?"

"Certainly not." Julia tried to look dignified, but failed.

Janet sighed. Even given what came of that, Roger was unlikely to let go of it for a while. And Julia was doomed to disappointment. "There's nothing terribly interesting here. Mostly farm animals like cows and goats. There might be some exotic birds, though."

As they approached the aviary, she spotted Marshall and Lily, but no Barney and definitely no goat. Still she nudged the others.

"We're on the right track then," Roger said softly, even though they didn't have to whisper any more.

To Janet's surprise, Cat ignored the signs to the Enchanted Forest (which sounded appropriate) and led them straight to the goat pen. For some reason, everyone else in the park seemed to be heading away from the pen, and as they walked closer, Janet wondered why they were going there at all.

"There's an aversion spell on this area. Could one of you do a counterspell? Just for us, as we don't want strangers barging in on this."

Julia's handkerchief came out and she did as requested.

When they reached the pen, it was empty, except for the goats and Barney, who looked a little less than thrilled. 

Julia studied him for a moment. "He's trying some sort of spell. It doesn't seem to be working, though."

They watched as a flare appeared, sputtered and went out.

"Cat, can you free the unicorn?" Roger asked. "Or should we all three try together?"

"All three. Everything here feels like I'm working through heavy fog. I'm not sure why. Julia seems to be doing okay." Cat looked worried, but he took Roger's hand and tried to focus on freeing the unicorn. The nature of Julia's magic meant that her hands needed to be free.

There was another brief flare and once again, it flickered for a moment and died. The three children frowned, as did Barney, who was suddenly staring right at them.

"How did you...? Oh, never mind. Unicorns don't belong in this world, and I imagine you four don't either. Are you here to take her home?"

"That was the plan." Janet was startled at her daring. "Maybe if the four of you work together you can free her. Otherwise, we'll have to contact Roger and Julia's dad."

Both Roger and Julia looked uncomfortable at this. But they had to admit that they might be in over their heads.

"And what about you?" Barney asked, with a surprising amount of charm.

"I'm from this world. I may live with them now, but I have no magic of my own," Janet still wished the day would come when she would show some magic gift, but Chrestomanci said it was unlikely.

"Fair enough." Barney grinned engagingly at them. "I usually prefer not to work with children or animals, but this is clearly a special case. On the count of three. One. Two. Two and a Half. Two and three-quarters. Two and seven-eighths." He suddenly noticed them glaring at him and quickly said, "Three."

The four magicians focused all their energy on freeing the unicorn, and it looked like it was working. The goat's outline wavered and reformed into the shape of a unicorn.

Janet found herself willing as hard as she could, as though she could help in some way other than being the ~~semi-~~ native guide. It was working. It was...the outline solidified and there it was. A unicorn in Central Park. Janet couldn't help wishing she had a camera.

Barney looked at it with pure distaste. "I trust you'll be leaving soon."

"Do not fear. The children and I will leave your world soon. We just need help reopening the portal. My powers are weak in this world." The unicorn might have been smirking, if unicorns could smirk.

"Where is the portal?" asked Julia. "Or can we just leave from here?"

"There are several in Central Park," Barney answered. "I believe the nearest is in the _Enchanted Forest_ \- a better name than most people realize."

Janet grinned as he led them out of the goat pen.

Julia was less confident. "Won't people notice us with a unicorn in tow?"

"In Central Park, hardly. You'd be surprised at what you can get away with in this city." Still, Barney looked wary. "Even if my friends won't see the unicorn, I do have a reputation to maintain."

"We saw them by the aviary," Cat offered. At Barney's glance, he added, "We've been tracking her all day."

"I thought I heard something, up on the roof. That was you kids?" He sounded torn between annoyed and impressed. They were about to start up the Lily Pad Walk, when Barney made an abrupt turn. "I should have known." Marshall and Lily were clearly visible on the path that lead to the Enchanted Forest. "We can take the long way around."

The zoo wasn't very big and before they knew it they were in the Enchanted Forest. Janet and Julia made a face at some of the bigger insects, but they followed Barney's lead.

He led them to a secluded alcove. "Here we go. I'm not sure how to open it though."

The unicorn aimed her horn at the portal. The area went all blurry, but then it cleared up again. "I am sorry. My powers are weakened here, like Cat's."

"Now what?" Cat asked. "Things seem a little clearer now that you're free, but if you can't open the portal, I won't be able to either."

"We'll have to summon Chrestomanci. It's the only way. His magic is different from yours." Janet said thoughtfully.

"And my magic hasn't been affected, so maybe dad's hasn't either," Julia added. 

Janet stared at her. "So why hasn't he shown up?" Usually he appeared the moment someone called his name.

"We're on an alternate world. You have to call him three times," Roger explained.

The four children looked at each other and as one said, "Chrestomanci. Chrestomanci. Chrestomanci."

Janet was almost relieved when he showed up dressed in a dove grey morning suit rather than one of his outlandish dressing gowns.

Barney grinning at the sight of the enchanter. "Christopher. Of course. And these are your children." He managed to say that with almost a complete lack of distaste.

'They are. I'd ask what they'd been up to, but it seems rather obvious. Can you handle whatever disorder they caused on this world? I had best get the unicorn home before it causes any more disruption." Chrestomanci grinned back.

"You know him, Dad?" Roger asked.

"We've known each other about...five years or so now. He's my agent on this world." Chrestomanci explained.

"They've been remarkably discreet. Even my friends didn't spot them and I've been trying to shake one or the other of _them_ all day." Barney reassured him. "There are times I wish I could be open about this, but they'd never believe me."

"I understand completely." Chrestomanci's eyes twinkled. "Give me a hand here. It will be easier to open the gate with the help of someone from your world."

To the children's amusement, they both dusted their jackets and straightened their cuffs with identical motions before opening the gateway.

The moment their world appeared on the other side the unicorn jumped through lightly.

"Thanks." "Thank you." "It's been swell." "Thanks for your help." The kids followed at Chrestomanci's urging.

Looking back, Janet saw Chrestomanci shake Barney's hand. "I appreciate this. Talk to you soon."

"No problem," Barney said as Chrestomanci stepped through the portal. "It's been legend...."

The portal closed on his last word and the four children, the unicorn and Chrestomanci turned to make their way home. 

 


End file.
